Olympics swimmers have turned to guzzling cans of Coke as a means of protecting themselves from potential health risks ahead of competing in the polluted waters of the Seine River in Paris.
A test run of the marathon swim course in the Seine was postponed until Wednesday over concerns about water quality, yet the triathlon mixed relay went ahead as planned the day before. Last week, Belgium pulled its team from the mixed relay event after an athlete who previously swam in the river got sick, and a swimmer for Switzerland also missed the competition due to a reported illness.
According to athletes of three teams who spoke with The Wall Street Journal, top swimmers swear by Coca-Cola to prevent infection.
“The myth of Coca-Cola is true,” Moesha Johnson of Team Australia, said. “We will often have a Coca-Cola afterward just to try to flush out anything inside of us.”
Water quality in the Seine has remained a persistent concern in Paris, and swimming in the river has been largely prohibited for the last century due to the toxicity.
Despite French officials reportedly spending $1.5 billion on infrastructure improvements ahead of the games, including to make the Seine cleaner, issues concerning bacteria have persisted.
Last month, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo swam in the Seine to assure athletes about the river’s safety.
“So I’m really proud and happy and to all those who want to continue saying it’s impossible to depollute a river, I tell them, ’Yes it’s possible, we did it,’” she said recently. Her assurances may have been overly optimistic. Some experts still argue that swimming in the Seine was never a good idea for the athletes.
“I would never have selected the Seine,” Davey Jones, professor of Environmental science and public health at Bangor University, told BBC Science Focus. “I know it’s iconic, but it also runs through a hugely urbanised area which is always a recipe for disaster when it comes to potential exposure to chemicals or biological pathogens.”
Dr. Maria Abreu, president of the American Gastroenterological Association, told the Journal that the Coke method isn’t scientifically sound, as the drink is less acidic than a healthy stomach, meaning it likely wouldn’t add any infection-fighting power for the athletes who probably have healthy guts already.
Despite these concerns and the delays, the women’s 10km open water swimming marathon was still held in the Seine Thursday morning after the water was deemed clean enough, and Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands took the gold for the second time in a row.
